Finish remover



Patented Da 1931' v CARSON W. SIMMS, OF TERRE HA'UTE, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO SOLVENTS UNE-TEDHSTATES PATENT OFFICE] WRPORATION, 0]! man HAUTE, IIDIANA, A CORPORATION OF MARYLAND FINISH REMOVER No Drawing. I

My invention relates to improved compositions for removing nitrocellulose lacquer films from surfaces to which-they have been applied. My invehtion pertains specifically to suitable liquid compositions capable of decreasing the adherenceof the nitrocellulose film to the undersurface in such a manner that it can be readily removedtherefrom without any damage to the latter. In some cases the film is partly dissolved by the remover and in other cases there is no apparent dissolving actionfyet the film is loosened.

The analogous art of removing paint and varnish is a highly developed one. For the purpose of removing paint and varnish, solvent mixtures containing alcohols, ketones,'

esters, and the like in combination-with liquid hydrocarbons, such as those of the coal tar seriese. g., benzol, .toluol, etc. or those of the petroleum series such as petroleum naphe tha have been used. Various theories have beenevolved to explain the solvent action of these mixtures on the films but these need not vent mixture that is useful for removing lacbe discussed.

To reduce the cost and otherwise increase the eficiency of using such, a remover, it has been necessary to retard the evaporation rate of the volatile solvent materials comprising it. A great variety -of retardent substances has been'proposed inthe literature but probably the most'successful and useful of these are paraffin, vegetable wax and beeswax. Paint and varnish removers containing wax are protected from rapid evapora tion during use by the formation-of a scum or film of wax on top of the liquid. It so happens that the most useful paint and varnish removers-i. e., those materials containing acetone, ethyl alcohol, benzol, etc. are also capable of dissolving or softening nitrocellulose lacquer films and they have been used for this purpose to a large extent. Such materials seem to dissolve both the nitrocelluose-per se and the other solids sn ch as the gums, which substances formthe principal constitutents of lacquer. i

There are, however, two great objections 1 to the use rof ordinary paint and varnish removers for'use on lacquer and the object of the present invention isto devise a new sol- Ap'plication filed December 19, i927. Serial No. 241,262.

vent composition containing a retardent' which will more suitably remove lacquer. One of the principal objections to the use of ordinary paint and varnish removers for this purpose rests in the fact that these materials usually contain wax, a very small trace of been removed by the use of Wax-containing removers. The other principal objection noted is the fact that ordinary paint and varnish removers do not merely lift lacquer films as they do paint and varnish films so that the said film can be stripped off easily, but rather they dissolve these films and when it is attempted to remove the mixture from the surface, a smearedjob results. q

I have now'discovered a new type of solquer and which constitutes a great improvement over the prior art. This new type of composition contains a solvent for nitrocellulose and also contains diluents or non-.

rapidly, as any nitrocellulose is dissolved by the nitrocellulose solvent present in the mixture, the excess of diluent (non-solvent) used acts to throw the dissolved'nitrocellulose (iut of the solution again. By the adoption of this principle offormulation, I havefound that mixtures of solvent 'and'non-solvent for nitrocellulose can be readily prepared that will not actually dissolvegthelacquer film but will merely serve to soften or loosen it so that it may be removed'as a .film in a manner analogous to that employed in the paint and varnish art. V

The subject of solvent balance which impliesthe lirnit-of tolerance of asolution of nitrocellulose for a non-solvent materialis well understood by those skilled-in the lac- 'quer art and is discussed in detail by Brown and Bogin in Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, vol. 19, page .968 (1927). A solution of nitrocellulose will tolerate the addition of some quantity of a nonsolvent, but after a critical point is reached -.the further additionswill cause a precipitation or gelling takes. place, depen I s tion or gelling of the nitrocellulose. The

amount of non-'solvent that is possible 'to add to a: nitrocellulosesolution before recipita largely 1 upon the limit of tolerance of the nitrocelluany nitrocellulose tending to'dissolve in the solvent will be thrown out of solution bythe non-solvent,"that I achieve the favorable re sults described in this specification. n

The evaporation rates of individual solvents and non-solvents vary widely. It is obvious then thatjf oneingredient of a-solventnonsolv'ent mixture evaporates at a considerably faster rate than the other, the

solvent balance of the mixture will be de stroyed' unless care has been taken to provide a fairly large excess of the faster evaporating constituent. When the tolerance ratio has dissolves the nitrocellulose.

been exceeded either by the addition'of a non-solvent .or by'the rapid evaporation of solvent,- nitrocellulose is precipitated out of solution either in the form of a gel of a form resembling cotton-fibres.

When a composltlon containing a nitrocellulose non-solvent 'and a nitrocellulose solvent evaporating faster than the non-sol;

vent, in such proportions that the solvent is I just slightly in excess of its tolerance ratio to the non-solvent, is applied to a surface coated with nitrocellulose the following phenomee non takes place. The solvent present first As the slight excess of-faster evaporating solvent leaves the mixture the solvent balance is destroyed, leaving an excess of non-solvent, which precipitates the. nitrocellulose. The nitrocellulose in this precipitated form may then be easily removed from the surface being cleaned. r, q e

I- have found that still more advantageous results may be obtained by using a mixture in which the toleranceratio has been slightly exceeded, i. e. a non-solvent mixture for nitrocellulose or one which immediately precipitates it. (By tolerance ratio is meant the maximum volume of the diluent which can be added to the nitrocellulose'solvent with- 'out destroying its power to, act as a solvent,

the concentrationof the nitrocellulose being approximately that used 'inpractical lacquers.) A mixture of this composition, in-

stead of dissolving the nitrocellulose and reprecipitating'it in a softened or gel form,

'merely softens the nitrocellulose film and leaves it in non-sticky or rather plastic form which is very easily and thoroughly removed from the surface being cleaned.

As the non-solvent or diluent I may use either a liquid coal tar hydrocarbon such: as toluol or xylol, or a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon such as petroleum naphtha or a high boiling grade of gasolene, The point of chief importance is that whatever hydrocar bon is used should have a slower rate of evap oration than the nitrocellulose solvent. I

have found, however, that the petroleum 7 hydrocarbons have certain advantages 'over the coal tar hydrocarbons. These advantag'es lie in the fact'that when petroleum hydrocarbons are used the nitrocellulose is precipitated in'a flocculent form while with coal tar hydrocarbons it is pyecipitated as a coherent gel. In the-former case the film is 'fou'nd to be much more easily removed from the surface being cleaned.

As the solvent in my'improved removers I may use any of a number of materials which are generally used as solvents forkiitrocellulose.- TIt'js desirable, however, that the 'material chosenshould attack at. a fairly rapid rate the finish being renewed and should evaporate somewhat faster than the diluent employed. Examples of solventszsuit able for ,use are acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl acetate,-.ethyl acetate,-'propyl acetate, diacetone alcohol and other esters, ketones, etc. commonly used as nitrocellulose solvents; 1

of the liquids employed in my improved removers.so that they will remain on the lac- 'quer -fi1;m long enough to loosen it, I find it v In order to reduce the rate of evaporation v advantageous to employ certain evaporation retardentssuch asgels formed by alcohols with materials such as sodium nitrophthag late, calcium-o-nitrobenzoate, sodium alum or"- .calcium acetate. My improved remover operates quite satisfactorily, however, without the addition "of retarders. While all of the materials just mentioned are entirely suitable for the purpose for which they are used I have found that-the last named is particularly suitable due to ;its cheapnes s as well as its efiicient operation;. .--L Calcium acetate-alcohol gels are obtained by vigorously shak ing together an aqueous solution of calcium acetateand ethyl alcohol or'other alcohols.

-' Since it is often desired to employ 'a remover on a vertical or inclined'surface it is very advantageous to include in its composition some substance to give it bodyand thus prevent it from flowing. off the surface being treated before suflicient time has I elapsed-to allow the solvent to act upon the film. For this pu'rposeI have-foun d it ad-. vantageous to include in my improved re mover a suitable amount of nitroc llulose.

increase the activity of the remover.

Sincethe solvent mixture employed-isslightly over the tolerance limit for nitrocellulose,

the latter will be precipitated-before the aplication of the remover. In addition to act- -mg as a thickening agent, the presenceof this 1 precipitated nitrocellulose seems to actually The particular grade of nitrocellulose used in my new composition is not a matter of great importance, provided to other constituents present are suitably varied. For example,

vent grades offn'itrocellulose ranging from I I a standard solvent mixture being employed.

Measured on asimilar scale, dope cotton ranges in viscosity fromapproximately seconds up to 200 seconds.

The examples given below are cited for the purpose of showing a number of the possible variations in composition of my. new removers and it should be understood that. my invention' is not limited by these specific ex- 20% aqueous solution of calcium acetate-.. 2

The consistency of the remover may .be regulated :as desired by the number of partsof aqueous solution of calcium acetate used. A remover of pasty consistency may be obtained by increasing the amount to about 5 parts.

In case it is preferred to omit the nitrocellulose, it is desirable that the amount of .calcium' acetate solution employed be increased somewhat in order that the remover may still have the necessary consistency. In such a case, 4 parts of a 20% aqueous solution of calcium acetate-should be used in the i composition shown under Example I. The e may satisfactorily employ difl'ercomposition described under the example given above. A composition of this type is shown under Example II.

Example II Parts Dope cotton dissolved in acetone (8 grams' CO.) 95% ethyl alcohol- 15 Petroleum naphtha 15 20% aqueous solution of-calcium acetate. 2

The removal of the nitrocellulose from the remover described under Example II would necessitate the addition. of additional calcium acetate solution to give a remover of somewhat the same consistency. The remover would' then have the composition shown under EXam'pIeIII.

Example III i,- Parts Acetone 9 95% ethyl alcohol 14 Petroleum naphtha 14 20% aqueous solution of, calcium acetate; 4

The calcium acetate solution serves only as an evaporation retarder in my improved removers'and ,I may obtain. an etficient composition without including it Such a remove-r is'-shown in Example IV.

amples.

' Emamplel- Example IV i l Parts" Parts Dope cotton dissolved in acetone (10 D tt di olv d in a,cetone (1O grams per 100 cc.) a p 0- grams per 100 cc.) 12 95% ethylalcohol 2O 95% ethyl alcohol- 20 Petroleum naphtha 20 Petroleum naphtha. 20

It is also possible to omit the-ethyl alcohol if desired for any reason. In such case, the petroleum naphtha should be reduced to lOparts in order ta. maintain the proper solvent balance.

In place of petroleum naphtha, a coal tar hydrocarbon such as 'toluol may be used, as shown in Example V.

E wamgile V 1 Parts Dope cotton dissolved in acetone (16 grams per 100 cc.) 6 95% ethyl alcohol 2O Toluol 24 20% aqueous solution of calcium acetate- In place of ethyl alcohol, another alcohol suchas methanol or butanol may be used, as shown in Example VI.

Ewample VI V I Parts -Dope cotton dissolved in acetone (16 grams per 100 co.) Methanol '20 Toluol 24 20% aqueous solution of calcium acetate- 2 Butanol mayalso replace ethyl alcohol in Example I, and in the other examples.

In place of acetone, ethyl acetate or other volatile solvents for nitrocellulose may beused. Acetone is preferred, however, since 3 it exerts a more rapid solvent action as a remover. In Example VII, a remover con: taining ethyl acetate is shown.

" "Example VII Parts Dope cotton ,dissolved in ethyl acetate (12.5gramsper 100 cc.) 8 95% ethyl alcohol '0 Petroleum naphtha 22 aqueous solution of calcium acetate "2 In place of dope cotton which has a Viscosity of about 40 seconds as-measured ac-' cording to the ordinary methods in the lacquer-art, one may use other varieties of nitrocellulose that are more or lessvisc ous than dope cotton. For example, the so-called half second viscosity cotton (nitrocellulose) that is commonly employed in the manufacture of lacquers may be use-din producing lacquer removers; In case this material is employed for the purpose, it is necessary to use solutions (in acetone or other solvent) containing more solid material than in the case of dope cotton. In Example vVIII a remover containing half second cotton is shown.

E sample V] I I Parts Half second viscosity nitrocellulose dis-' solved in acetone (35 grams per 100 cc.) 10 95% ethyl alcohol f 20 Petroleum naphtha 20- 20% aqueous solution of calcium acetate 2 Example I X In place of the aqueous solution of calcium acetate used in Examples I to VIII as an alcohol-gel agent, other materials forming gels with alcohol may be employed. There is a variety of salts whose aqueous solutions form gels with alcohol and .all of these are suitable for the purpose. Three other commonly known and useful materials for the purpose are sodium alum, calcium ortho 'nitrobenzoate, and sodium nitrophthalate. In the case of sparingly soluble materials such as sodium nitrophthalate and sodium alum, saturated aqueous solutions are used. In the case of calcium-ortho nitrobenzoate, a 20% solution will suflice. Whatever gelling agent used should be employed in approximately v the same proportions as the calcium acetate shown in the examples above. I have found that the method of preparation has a great bearing ont-heconsistency' of the final product. In preparing the composition shown under Example above, I have found that the best results are obtained by following the procedure outlined below:

1. Mix the ethyl alcohol and one half of the petroleum naphtha.

2. Next add the nitrocellulose solution and agitate the resulting mixture. '3. Add "the remainder of the petroleum naphtha and again agitate.

4. Finally, the calcium acetatesolutio'n is added and dispersed thru the nitrocellulose solution by vigorous agitation.'

especially for nitrocellulose lacquers, for which former types of removers have not been entirely satisfactory, they serve equally efiiciently for the removal of paintsand varnishes. 1 I q Now having described my invention, I claim the following as new and. novel.

1. A paint, varnish and nitrocellulose lacquer rerhoverjcomprishg 10 parts of dope cotton dissolved in acetone (10 grams per 100 cc.), ,20 parts of ethyl alcohol, 20 parts .ofpetroleum naphtha, and 2-5 parts of a 20% aqueous solution of calcium acetate.

2. A. paint, varnish and nitrocellulose lacquer remover comprising 10 parts of dope cot-ton dissolved in acetone (8 grams in While my improved removers are designed Co.) 15 parts ofethyl alcohol 15parts of petroleum naphtha, and 2 parts of a 20% 4. A paint, varnish and lacquer remover comprising nitrocellulose, a nitrocellulose solvent and a nitrocellulose n'on;solvent selected from the group consisting of liquid coal tar hydrocarbons and liquid petroleum hydrocarbons and which has a slower rate ofevaporation than that of the particular nitrocellulose solvent chosen, the said solvent and non-solvent being present in such proporsolvent is alwaysjust exceeded.

. 5. A paint, varnish andlacquenremover comprising nitrocellulose, an evaporation tions that shortly after evaporation begins .7 t the tolerance ratio of the non-solvent to the retarde'r, a nitrocellulose solvent and a nitro-- cellulose non-solvent selected from the group consisting of liquid coal tar hydrocarbons and liquid petroleum hydrocarbons and which has a slower rate of evaporation than that of the particular nitrocellulose solvent chosen, the said solvent and non-solvent being present in such proportions that shortly after evaporation begins the tolerance ratio I of the non-solvent to the solvent is always just exceeded.

6. A paint, varnish andlacquer' remover comprising an evaporation retarder, a nitrocellulose solvent and. a nitrocellulose nonsolvent selected from the group consistin of liquid coal tar hvdrocarbonsand liqui petroleum hydrocar ons and which has a slower rate of evaporation than that of the particular nitrocellulose solvent chosen, the said solvent and non-solvent being present in such proportions that shortly after evaporation begins the tolerance ratio of the nonsolvent to the solvent is always just'exceeded.

7. A paint, varnish andlacquer remover comprising a ketone and a liquid hydrocarbon selected from the. group consisting of liquid coal tar hydrocarbons and liquid petroleum hydrocarbonsand which has a slower rate of evaporation than that of the ketone, the said ketone and said liquid hydrocarbon being present in such,prop0rtions that shortly after evaporation begins the 1:01- erance ratio of the liquid hydrocarbons to the ketone is always 'ust exceeded.

8. A paint, varni's and lacquer remover comprising an evaporation retarder, a ketone and a liquid hydrocarbon selected from the t group consisting of liquid coal tar hydrocarbons and liquid petroleum hydrocarbons and which has a lower rate of evaporation than that of the ketone, the saidliquid hydrocarbon and ketone being present in such proportions that shortly after evaporation begins the tolerancetratio of the liquid hydrocarbon to the ketone is always just exceeded.

9. A paint varnish and'lacquer remover comprismg-mtrocellulose, an evaporation retarder a ketone and a liquid hydrocarbon se- 40 lected from the cup consisting of liquid coal tar hydrocar ons and liquid petroleum hydrocarbons and which has a slower rate of evaporation than that of the'ketone, the said ketone and liquid hydrocarbon being present in such proportions that shortl after evaporations begins the tolerance ratio ofthe liquid hydrocarbon to the ketonejs always just exceeded. y 4

In testimony whereof I aflix my si ature.

w 1 CARSON SI S.

so I 

